Although Arcola's Brandt Freitag only started playing table tennis last year, the eighteen-year-old Arcola School graduate has already been selected to Team Saskatchwan's table tennis team and recently represented the province at the national level this month at the 2016 Canadian Championships at the University of Winnipeg, July 8-10.
“I don't think it's really hit me yet,” says Freitag of his success. “I started playing right after New Year's last year. Me and my buddy Dylan Cann just started playing at school during breaks and over lunch. Our (Arcola Panthers Ping Pong) coach Dan Graf and A.J. Schlenker-who was here for about a year- helped some of us start a club and we started going to tourneys and stuff.”
“I really owe those guys a big thank you.”
A few months after beginning to play, Freitag competed at the Table Tennis Saskatchewan Provincial School Championships, last spring in Saskatoon. There, he won all of his matches in a round robin, earning a spot on the A-side, where he played the event's champion and finished fourth overall.
In addition, Freitag competed as part of a doubles team at the same tournament with fellow Panther, Jared Taylor, earning a silver medal-and during a Table Tennis Saskatchewan provincial tournament in Moose Jaw, Freitag placed 4th in the province.
Freitag says playing the game began “as just something to do. But maybe a month and a half in, I really started to feel like I was improving.”
“Paul Noel came to Arcola School last year and he helped us a lot. He's the provincial coach and I practice with him in Regina now, too.” says Freitag. “I've learned a lot at the provincial level; just within a day, you improve a lot. It's the same thing with tournaments; as the tournament goes on and your competitors are tougher, you just get better.”
Freitag says that competitive table tennis is as much a mental game as it is a physical game.
“Ideally, you sleep well before a competition,” he says. “And I try to stay calm about that last winning point and going forward.”
“It can be mentally exhausting,” he adds. “At my first tournament, I was super-nervous, but once I started playing, things got better. But it can easily go the other way and if you let nerves get the best of you, that can really affect your game, so preparation is really important.”
“I practice just about every day and every other weekend, I practice with Paul Noel. At school, we started out using drills we found on Youtube. I have a table at home and our coach also has us lift weights for strength and endurance.”
After donning the Team Saskatchewan jersey at the national competition in Winnipeg, Freitag will take his table tennis paddle to Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario where he will study eco-tourism.
“Our coach tells me that the (table tennis) coach in Ontario is really good, so yeah, I want to continue playing.”
“But for now... I have so many people to thank-my family's been behind me all the way and my coaches-all of hem-have been unreal. They've helped me so much.”
“I never thought I'd be doing this. It's a growing sport in Saskatchewan and it's definitely a good sport.”
